New release of TFS ASAP for TFS 2015 Update 2.1

We are proud to present the new release of our TFS Automated Servicing and Administration Platform (TFS ASAP). Besides some minor bug fixes, this version supports the update 2.1 of Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2015. In addition, there are some smaller features which will make your daily business a bit easier.

First of all, there is the option of defining a custom reason for state changes. This is one of the most wanted features in our backlog. It took a really long time to get it into our product, but now it’s here! To define a reason for the state change, the workitem field for reasons has to be defined. By default, you should use the System.Reason field, but it is also possible to define a custom field for some other comments which are related to a state change.

The reason itself is an attribute inside of the state configuration. If you are using the System.Reason field, make sure that your custom reason is defined for all transition into the desired state in your process template. But don’t panic – if the reason is not valid for the transition the default value will be set.

Configuration of State Aggregation Automation

Second, we like to announce that there are two new default rules for state aggregation in CMMI process templates. The existing aggregation is replaced by these rules. The first rule All children are resolved or closed sets the state of the parent element to Resolved if all of its children are Resolved or Closed. In contrast to the former rule, it does not handle the transition back to Active. Therefore, the new rule Any child is active is provided. It does not only set the parent from Resolved to Active if one child is “moved back”. It also sets the parent from Proposed to Active when the team starts to work on the first child item. As this new rule is not specific for one work item type, it guarantees a consistent backlog. If the first Task is set to Active the whole hierarchy will be updated an at the end also your related Epic will be set to Active.

New State Aggregation Rules

Finally, we implemented the basic infrastructure for automations based on build completion events. There is no common use case right now, but we are offering the possibility to develop your own automations. The Base Build Completion Automation is the perfect start for a custom automation as it supports XAML Build Completion Event and JSON Build Completion Event. So no matter if you are using the new Team Build or XAML Builds, TFS ASAP can handle it.

All features are available for TFS 2015 RTM and all updates. For further Information about TFS ASAP please refer to www.tfsasap.com or contact us at [email protected].